1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a carrier device for carrying a work piece between a registration station and a processing station of an exposure apparatus, and more particularly to a carrier capable of both carrying the work piece into the processing station (e.g., contact exposure station) where an airtight chamber is formed and the work piece is processed under airtight conditions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the conventional method for transferring a circuit pattern to a printed circuit board from an original film, carrying the corresponding light-transmitted or flare pattern, the circuit board is exposed through the original film overlaid on the printed board. In this case, for the purpose of obtaining sufficient resolution, it was required to expose with parallel light or to bring the original film into contact with the printed circuit board.
In addition, for the purpose of automatically positioning the original form film and the printed circuit board, a method for registration of both is required (See Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 61-28153). This method involves placing the registration station for positioning and a registration table at different positions and carrying the original film positioned at the registration station to the registration table and then, likewise, carrying the printed circuit board positioned at the registration station to the registration table.
In the above-mentioned prior art, because the printed circuit board positioned at the registration station was carried by suspending it from an arm, there was a possibility of misregistration when picked-up with the arm.
In addition, the transfer from registration station to the registration position, as is, causes delay, and the position of the printed circuit board cannot be determined during exposure, resulting in poor working efficiency.